Tuesday, March 05, 2013

Hello! It's been a while...

Testing, 1, 2...

Is this thing on?

Are you still there?

Well, if you are all still there, hello! I've missed you! Thanks for hanging out while I sorted through some stuff.

As you may recall, my son was diagnosed with celiac disease last year which means that he can have nothing with gluten in it (and I also discovered that I can not eat gluten). When I last wrote, I anticipated taking a few of months off to regroup. Well, that few months turned into just about a full year, and what a year it's been!

At the beginning of 2012, I chose one word to focus on:

That's been very hard to do, but taking time to rejoice was important to us and it's part of the reason why a few months became a year.

We had a lot of adjusting to do, some healing to do, and then took some extra time to just appreciate what we have. We have a lot to be grateful for, but it's easy to forget that when most of our time is spent worrying about and attending to health issues.

First the house had to be purged of anything containing gluten, except for the few items kept on one shelf in a small cupboard that my husband would eat.

Once the purging and disinfecting was done, the restocking began, and I started the process of learning how to bake and buy things that were both nutritious and tasty!

There was much time spent researching, talking to others, meeting with support groups and attending information sessions.

Still, we did find many ways to rejoice! It was important to me that my son's life not be too interrupted and that he feel as 'normal' as possible.

We are beginning to understand how to navigate the world as celiacs, and every month I discover a new resource. In July we attended our first Celiac Stampede Breakfast. Thank goodness for our local Celiac Association, or we would have missed out on this beloved tradition altogether.

In September, Jack started kindergarten. The school and his teacher are fantastic about caring for Jack and his dietary restrictions. There's a girl in Jack's class who also has celiac disease and the two of them are the best of friends! In fact, they've been overheard discussing plans for marriage. They are too cute!

While we were 'away', Jack also celebrated his fifth (WHAT?!) birthday at one of his favourite places on Earth, the Calgary Gymnastics Centre at the home of the 1988 Winter Olympics. Shortly after that, his paediatrician told us that he was back on track with his height and weight and looking healthy! Music to a mother's ears.

To those of you who have been 'around' during this past year, keeping in touch on Facebook and Twitter, thank-you SO much for your support.

I'm happy to be back and I'm looking forward to connecting with you all again!